The heart of the apartment is a kitchen in a delicate spring green and dramatic natural Michelangelo quartzite. Against dark walnut French herringbone, the dining table and glass-fronted cabinets, it looks tender and expressive at the same time. We chose the stone at the city's largest warehouse, Venezia Stone in Parnas. This charismatic beauty set the palette for the whole apartment: we picked up its colours in the ginger bar stools and the island fronts. The result is memorable and fresh (pardon our immodesty).

Another source of "design joy" is grandpa's 1950s sideboard, which the clients had long had their eye on in the attic of the family dacha. It was half-ruined and ginger, and we even doubted it would fit in. We darkened it, replaced some details, kept the mirror patinated by time — and now it proudly stands in one of the central spots of the apartment. Ready to be handed down to the next generation.

The clients wanted to separate the living room from the kitchen. At first we weren't keen on a partition, but an airy one with a light Art Deco ornament added texture to the space. Many refused to make an almost three-metre structure, but in the end it turned out beautiful and even on time.

The main accent of the living room is stone again: a slab of Brazilian Patagonia quartzite under the TV. Quartzite is translucent, so we backlit it, and it glows softly in the evenings. I love its elegant unobtrusiveness.

The Natuzzi sofa and armchair from the clients' previous apartment moved into the study — they had been bought quite recently. The second vintage piece lives here too: a sideboard brought into the family from Valdai after the war. This fellow is almost a hundred years old! We removed the top part and turned it into a chest of drawers, cleaned the Art Deco carving, stripped the century-old ginger finish and toned it to match the floor. It's one of my favourite pieces in the apartment. Above it are shelves with family heirlooms, and when the rug was laid, the interior finally seemed complete. That's how important details can be.

From the study we enter the holy of holies — the jewel-box bedroom. It's like a velvety eucalyptus shawl cosily wrapping your shoulders. They say colour eats space, and it's true. But the high ceiling, mirrors, the lit glass cube of the walk-in wardrobe and an almost wall-sized window dilute it — and the result is just right.

A semi-transparent wardrobe with tinted glass is a risky decision few would take. But our brave clients went for it: you only live once! And sometimes life isn't about a remote control in cellophane and a protective throw on an expensive sofa, but about emotions and "allowing yourself".

The bedroom connects to its own bathroom with a hammam, turning it all into a separate spa suite you only leave when you get hungry.

We made the hammam in light fluted stone: a vaulted ceiling of fine mosaic, warm contour lighting and a lounger you want to linger on. A glass door in a slim black frame and black fixtures add graphic lines.

The bathroom has a basin of iridescent stone that echoes the kitchen, and cabinets in warm walnut. The guest WC turned out bolder: blue tiles, brass taps and an oval backlit mirror.